shady

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shad·y

(shā′dē)

adj. shad·i·er, shad·i·est

1. Full of shade; shaded: found a cool, shady spot under some trees. See Synonyms at dark.

2. Casting shade: a large, shady elm.

3. Of dubious character, morality, or legality; questionable: "men who could indulge in any shady deal in downtown offices and still pose as beneficent angels ... on the golf course" (Louis Auchincloss).

shad′i·ly adv.

shad′i·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

shady

(ˈʃeɪdɪ)

adj, shadier or shadiest

1. full of shade; shaded

2. affording or casting a shade

3. dim, quiet, or concealed

4. informal dubious or questionable as to honesty or legality

ˈshadily adv

ˈshadiness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

shad•y

(ˈʃeɪ di)

adj. shad•i•er, shad•i•est.

1. abounding in shade; shaded.

2. giving shade.

3. shadowy; indistinct; spectral.

4. of dubious character; disreputable.

Idioms:

on the shady side of, older than (a specified age, esp. beyond middle age).

[1570–80]

shad′i•ly, adv.

shad′i•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	shady - (of businesses and businessmen) unscrupulous; "a shady operation" fly-by-night untrustworthy, untrusty - not worthy of trust or belief; "an untrustworthy person"
	2.	shady - of questionable taste or morality; "a louche nightclub"; "a louche painting" louche disreputable - lacking respectability in character or behavior or appearance
	3.	shady - not as expected; "there was something fishy about the accident"; "up to some funny business"; "some definitely queer goings-on"; "a shady deal"; "her motives were suspect"; "suspicious behavior" suspect, suspicious, fishy, funny colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech questionable - subject to question; "questionable motives"; "a questionable reputation"; "a fire of questionable origin"
	4.	shady - filled with shade; "the shady side of the street"; "the surface of the pond is dark and shadowed"; "we sat on rocks in a shadowy cove"; "cool umbrageous woodlands" shadowed, shadowy, umbrageous shaded - protected from heat and light with shade or shadow; "shaded avenues"; "o'er the shaded billows rushed the night"- Alexander Pope

shady

adjective

1. shaded, cool, shadowy, dim, leafy, bowery, bosky (literary), umbrageous After flowering, place the pot in a shady spot.
shaded bright, exposed, sunny, open, out in the open, sunlit, unshaded

2. (Informal) crooked, dodgy (Brit., Austral., & N.Z. informal), unethical, suspect, suspicious, dubious, slippery, questionable, unscrupulous, fishy (informal), shifty, disreputable, untrustworthy Be wary of people who try to talk you into shady deals.
crooked straight, ethical, respectable, upright, honourable, honest, reputable, trustworthy, above-board

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

shady

adjective

1. Full of shade:

shaded, shadowy.

2. Casting shade:

umbrageous.

3. Of dubious character:

doubtful, equivocal, questionable, suspect, suspicious, uncertain.

Informal: fishy.

Translations

ظَليل، مُظَلِّلغَيْر نَزيه

podezřelýstinný

lyssky

schattig zwielichtig

hämäräperäinenkyseenalainenvalonarkavarjoinenvarjoisa

louche ombragé

sjenovit

árnyas

sem er í forsælu; svalurskuggalegur

losco ombroso

frynset skyggefull

senčen

gölgeligüvenilmezmadrabaz

可疑的背阴的荫凉的

shady

[ˈʃeɪdɪ] ADJ (shadier (compar) (shadiest (superl)))

1. (= shaded) [place] → sombreado
it's shady here → aquí hay sombra
under a shady tree → a la sombra de un árbol frondoso

2. (= dubious) [person] → dudoso; [deal] → turbio, chueco (Mex)

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

shady

[ˈʃeɪdi] adj

[place, spot] → ombragé(e)
under a shady tree → à l'ombre d'un arbre

(= dishonest) [deal, business] → louche, véreux/euse; [financier, businessman, lawyer] → véreux/euse

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

shady

adj (+er)

place → schattig; tree, hat → Schatten spendend

(inf: = of dubious honesty) → zwielichtig, zweifelhaft; he has a shady past → er hat eine dunkle Vergangenheit; to be on the shady side of the law → dunkle Geschäfte treiben; on the shady side of forty (US inf) → vierzig vorbei (inf); there’s something shady about it → da ist etwas faul dran (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

shady

[ˈʃeɪdɪ] adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl))) (place) → ombreggiato/a; (tree) → ombroso/a (fig) (person, deal) → losco/a, equivoco/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

shade

(ʃeid) noun

1. slight darkness caused by the blocking of some light. I prefer to sit in the shade rather than the sun.

2. the dark parts of a picture. light and shade in a portrait.

3. something that screens or shelters from light or heat. a large sunshade; a shade for a light.

4. a variety of a colour; a slight difference. a pretty shade of green; shades of meaning.

5. a slight amount. The weather is a shade better today.

verb

1. (sometimes with from) to shelter from light or heat. He put up his hand to shade his eyes.

2. to make darker. You should shade the foreground of that drawing.

3. (with into) to change very gradually eg from one colour to another.

ˈshaded adjective

(of parts of a picture) made darker.

shades noun plural

(especially American) sunglasses.

ˈshading noun

(in a picture etc) the marking that shows the darker parts.

ˈshady adjective

1. sheltered or giving shelter from heat or light. a shady tree; a shady corner of the garden.

2. dishonest. a shady business.

ˈshadiness noun

put in the shade

to cause to seem unimportant. She is so beautiful that she puts her sister in the shade.

References in classic literature ?

He desires to paint you the dreamiest, shadiest, quietest, most enchanting bit of romantic landscape in all the valley of the Saco.

View in context

Then feed on thoughts, that voluntarie move Harmonious numbers; as the wakeful Bird Sings darkling, and in shadiest Covert hid Tunes her nocturnal Note.

View in context

As the dun nightingale, daughter of Pandareus, sings in the early spring from her seat in shadiest covert hid, and with many a plaintive trill pours out the tale how by mishap she killed her own child Itylus, son of king Zethus, even so does my mind toss and turn in its uncertainty whether I ought to stay with my son here, and safeguard my substance, my bondsmen, and the greatness of my house, out of regard to public opinion and the memory of my late husband, or whether it is not now time for me to go with the best of these suitors who are wooing me and making me such magnificent presents.

View in context

The pond had in the meanwhile skimmed over in the shadiest and shallowest coves, some days or even weeks before the general freezing.

View in context

"We will go home through the wood: that will be the shadiest way."

View in context

They might be best lower down, on the shadiest side of the insect home.

HOW TO BUILD AN INSECT HOTEL; A bug hotel is part garden art and part habitat, helping you to cultivate a garden army that will see your plants flourishing. This step-by-step guide will help you create a multi-storey hotel that's full of all sorts of natural materials, providing hidey-holes for creatures galore

The identity of the masked criminal became a huge talking for viewers as he played a key role in some of the show's shadiest goings-on.

Line of Duty's balaclava man unmasked - who is he and what are his crimes? Line of Duty's balaclava man has been linked to abductions, murders and cover-ups; Line of Duty's balaclava man has been linked to abductions, murders and cover-ups

No sooner have you got over one childhood hero being exposed as the dirtiest of shadiest characters (more likely to cause nightmares than make dreams come true) than the next celebrity scandal rolls along to shatter any illusions you had left.

magdalene. dalziel

She remembered being at Grandma Mendoza's doublewide in Palmdale, draining the flat strings of her fifth or sixth beer in the shadiest corner of the carport while the sun blazed on the white rock groundcover, raising the temperature ten or fifteen degrees.

The Teacher

Though Mariah Carey and Madonna have made the points much time that they are the shadiest being not afraid to word out their opinions for anything or anyone, none of both is as blatant and ruthless with their words as Cher the pop legend.

The Times Cher Showed the World How Witty She Can Be

Strikingly coloured shrubs in reds and purples can create a dramatic backdrop for a floral display - while variegated leaves are able to lift the shadiest of corners.

Bushing the boundaries; Forget fussy flowers, it's time to let fancy foliage come to the fore. These trouble-free shrubs will bring colour to your beds

But the online ad machine is also a vast, opaque and dizzyingly complex contraption with underappreciated capacity for misuse - one that collects and constantly profiles data about our behaviour, creates incentives to monetise our most private desires, and frequently unleashes loopholes that the shadiest of people are only too happy to exploit.